December 07, 2005

209R O You Great Friend

Original Title: "O Thou Great Friend," Theodore Parker (1846), LANGRAN, 10.10.10.10., James Langran (1863); New Title: "O You Great Friend," rev. REH (2005), same hymn tune. Neither the tune nor the hymn appears in Singing the Living Tradition nor The New Century Hymnal. Theodore Parker was a 19th Century Unitarian minister and social reformer, leader within the "Transcendentalist" school and friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson, perhaps best known for "The Permanent and Transient in Christianity," a sermon given in 1841, on Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away." That "word," that is, the "truth" which "is still the light," is found in these lyrics; these constitute as well a liberal religious take on John 14:6a (NRSV), "Jesus said ... 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.'"

1. O you, Great Friend, to all the earth's child-ren,
who once ap-peared in humb-lest guise be-low,
sin to re-buke, to break the cap-tive’s chain,
to call the kin-dred forth from want and woe.
2. You would I sing: Your truth is still the light
which guides the na-tions grop-ing on their way,
stum-bling and fall-ing in dis-ast-rous night,
yet hop-ing ev-er for the per-fect day.

3. Yes, you are still the Life; You are the Way;
The hol-iest know— Light, Life and Way of Heaven;
And they who dear-ly hope and deep-ly pray,
toil by the Truth, Life, Way that you have given.

All materials may be reproduced for non-profit local and congregational use. We request notification of use, in addition to notification of any changes made when materials are used so we might benefit from the insight of others. Any materials used or reproduced in any way must bear the notation "(c) 2005 Richard E. Hurst, for non-profit local and congregational use only, all other rights reserved."